A Veteran's Journey

Trivia Questions (Answers @ end)

1. Who said, “Every successful person you admire survived a season you didn’t see.”?
2. In what movie (and who said it) did we hear, “Do, or do not. There is no ‘try’.”?
3. In what song (and who sang it) did we hear the following?
   There is none so blind as he who will not see
   We must not close our minds we must let our thoughts be free
   For every hour that passes by you know the world gets a little bit older
   It’s time to realize that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder

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“I don’t know what I’ve been told …
163 got a ‘hole lotta soul.
Sound off … 1, 2.
Sound off … 3, 4.
Bring it on down now.
1,2,3,4, 1,2
Let’s go!”

Ahh, the cadence of Company #163 marching from the barracks to the chow hall at Orlando RTC in the hot July summer of 1973.

Of course, that was a much better sound than the galvanized 50-gallon garbage can “alarm clock” being kicked down the middle of the barracks at “o-dark-thirty.”

For those of you not familiar with the military term “zero-dark-thirty” … think of it as freaking dark time … when you’re in the middle of a good dream … sleeping in a nice, quiet, meat locker … with 80 of your closest friends.

Yeah, you remember, don’t you? I was 18 years old; how old were you?

I know I’m not the only one who thought, “What in the hell did I get myself into?”

My first letter home—after the standard Navy-issue postcard announcing I arrived safely at Navy boot camp and WILL write home regularly—basically stated, “This place is a hellhole.”

Funny thing was, after the second or third week of boot camp, I no longer asked what I was getting into. It became a routine. Six weeks later, I graduated.

Same for ABH “A” School at Lakehurst, New Jersey.

My first duty station was NAS Agana, Guam. Like many others, I “learned” my rating on the job. As an Aviation Boatswain’s Mate Handler, my job in Guam, as well as aboard USS Kitty Hawk, was an aircraft Crash firefighter.

I can honestly say that during my three years, eleven months, & 29 days (but who’s counting?), there was only one other time I asked the pertinent question, “What the hell did I get myself into?”

I won’t go into details, primarily because the only thing I remember was that particular night involved a lot of alcohol—San Miguel beer, I might add.

At three pisos a bottle (at that time, one US dollar was equivalent to about six Philippine pisos), and the first time back after a five-week at sea period (meaning several paydays), what could go wrong?

Fortunately for me, PI (Philippine Islands, our overseas home port) had a midnight curfew, and I was out with some good flight deck buddies who “helped” me stumble my way back to the ship.

Transition to Civilian Life

When I left the Navy in July 1977, I knew what I wanted to do. I would return to school and get a degree in electronics engineering.

That idea actually came to me during Kitty Hawk’s one-year overhaul in the Bremerton Shipyards. Our normal workday was 7:30a to 3:00p. After that, liberty.

I got bored after a couple of months, so I took a few classes at Olympic Community College. One was in electronics, which planted the initial seed. Even though I’d flunked out of Florida State University after a year (I don’t know why … my GPA was 0.7), I knew I’d grown up a bit in the Navy.

After I got home, I took a job as a firefighter with the City of Gainesville, Florida.

I think that because I went from one regimented routine into another (the fire department), that helped ease me back into civilian life. That, and going back to college full-time, kept me pretty busy.

And then … I met the love of my life, Becky.

The rest is, as they say, history.

The Later Years

I’m retired now … and have been for a while. At 70 years old, I still keep myself busy (sometimes, there are too many things going on at one time), but I don’t complain. I often tell Becky, “It helps keep me off the streets.”

We both do a lot of volunteer work, mostly through our church. There are a lot of needs out there, so Becky & I do what we can when we can. It’s extremely rewarding to see the impact our small deeds have on others.

But what a lot of people don’t know is how these people impact us.

I don’t ask myself the initial pertinent question anymore. As I’ve grown older, with my soul mate, two wonderful kids and three awesome grandsons, I often look back at the things we’ve done and reflect on that wonderful journey called “life.”

Now, the question I often ask myself is, “How did I get so lucky?”

Until we meet again,
Andy

Andy Adkins is a US Navy veteran (’73-77) and the author of several books (www.azadkinsiii.com), many of which are free downloads (PDF, eBook format). He is currently retired and lives in Gainesville, Florida with his wife and life-long soulmate, Becky.

Previous Blogs mentioned in this Post:

• #4—From Civilian to US Navy
• #35—US Navy “A” School (ABH)
• #53—You Always Remember Your First …
• #67—Flight Ops: A Day in the Life of Crash & Salvage
• #20—Port Call: Philippines
• #30—USS Kitty Hawk @ Bremerton Shipyards, Part 1
• #42—The Shipyards, Part 2
• #121—The “Decision”
• #17—From Sailor to Civilian

Answers

1. Terrence Howard.
2. Star Wars: Episode V—The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Yoda (Frank Oz).
3. Everything is Beautiful (1970), Ray Stevens; written by Ray Stevens.